Pakitan won the toss and chose to field in the Super 4 match against India at R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo on Sunday. Pakistan captain Babar Azam, whose team is at the top of the points table, said his team is looking forward to take advantage of the moisture in the pitch. But Indian skipper Rohit Sharma said he was looking to bat first anyway.
In a last-minute announcement, India said it had to remove Shreyas Iyer from the playing XI after he suffered a back spasm during the warm-ups. He was replaced by K.L. Rahul. This comes after Iyer had made a comeback from a back surgery in India's first Asia Cup match on September 2. Japsrit Bumrah also rejoined the team after welcoming a baby boy and replaced Mohammed Shami.
Pakistan are a confident lot after beating Bangladesh by seven wickets in their first Super 4 match and will be looking to claim another victory in their clash against India. The Indian side will also be confident after registering a 10-wicket defeat upon Nepal in their previous clash.
Weather predictions ahead of the game remained positive, with many sharing sunny day pictures of Colombo ahead of the match. Forecasts said there won't be any showers before 7pm. If the rains interrupt the match, the remainder of the game will be played on Monday, thanks to a reserve day introduced for the contest.
“If adverse weather suspends play during the India vs Pakistan game, the match will continue on 11th September 2023 from the point it was suspended. In such an eventuality, ticket-holders are advised to hold on to their match tickets which will remain valid and will be utilised for the reserve day,” the Asia Cricket Council stated.
Team India
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, V Kohli, Ishan Kishan, K.L. Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Shradul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
Team Pakistan
Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan (vc), Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf
